[lds23]

The counter argument gun-control types make is that "well regulated militias" evolved into the National Guard, so the 2nd Amendment is obsolete.

You could also say that the King George's army evolved into the National Guard, and thus the 2nd amendment is vital.

Please, I mean no offense to the National Guard, but in the hands of a tyrant, the Armed Forces could be used against the American people.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think you're on to something (as were the Framers of the Constitution).

[Hostage]

That's been my understanding. As Jefferson described so clearly, a standing army was an open invitation to the eventual rise of a tyrant and subsequent loss of rights.

George Washington feared the potential tyranny of his own generals. Hence, to them he read aloud the terms of surrender imposed on the British while wearing bifocals to give himself a "weak" appearance. At the time he did not need them. Washington, a towering figure, reduced himself to the appearance of a meek professor in front of blood thirsty men hell-bent on revenge.

That is the point. Our founders understood that tyranny could emerge from any person emboldened with power. They designed the Constitution to arrest this part of human nature.

[archy]

You could also say that the King George's army evolved into the National Guard, and thus the 2nd amendment is vital.

Please, I mean no offense to the National Guard, but in the hands of a tyrant, the Armed Forces could be used against the American people.

No offence taken. The oath I swore as an officer was to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; not the government or any particular political officeholder.

But it may well be that the states have been derelict in not maintaining their own militia forces [though some do] and that in those locations, governors and others have failed to perform the duties and obligations of their offices.